Fastenerless tote box



June ,..1970 D. w. STENZEL ETAI- 3,515,594

FASTENERLESS TOTE BOX Filed Nov. 1, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 23, 1970 D. w STENZEL ET AL 3,516,594

FASTENERLESS TOTE BOX 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Nov. 1, 1968 P I G .4

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FIG.5

United States Patent US. Cl. 22934 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tote box folded from a single piece of plastic coated fibreboard and requiring no staples or adhesive, capable of being folded in reverse directions, and having a flat inner bottom which keeps the assembled tote box in assembled relation.

This invention relates generally to containers, and in particular, to a container frequently referred to as a tote box having diverging side walls to permit individual assembled tote boxes to be nested or stacked in a minimum of space.

In the past, tote boxes have been used in factories and other places to hold or transport or to store items or individual parts which have been manufactured. These tote boxes were previously made from metal, which was expensive. Sometimes these tote boxes were made from corrugated board or fibreboard and had a short life.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a tote box which can be folded in either direction from a one piece blank requiring no staples or adhesive to keep the blank folded in assembled relation. Another object is to provide a blank which is so dimensioned that the parts frictionally remain in assembled relation and are locked in by an inner bottom having an inner bottom flap thereon, said inner bottom extending to the outer surfaces of the inner end and side walls to prevent small parts from becoming wedged between the walls and/or the bottom. Another object is to provide means secured to the upper edges of the walls to temporarily fit over the upper opening of the tote box so that the tote boxes can be stacked one on top of the other without the bottom of the upper box resting on the contents in the lower box.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent hereinafter.

The invention is embodied in a one piece reversible blank and in an assembled tote box made from plastic coated fibreboard material whose parts are dimensioned so that they remain in assembled relation by friction, said tote box having an inner bottom dimensioned to fit on the bottom and to contact the lower inside surfaces of the inner side and end walls to form a tight bottom construction to prevent small parts from becoming entrapped between the bottom and/or the inner and outer side and end walls.

The invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and wherein like numerals and symbols refer to like parts Wherever they occur:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a blank embodying the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the blank after it has been folded into an assembled tote box,

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the longitudinal of the tote box along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and

3,516,594 Patented June 23, 1970 FIG. 5 shows the foregoing tote box with wires extending from the upper edges of the walls.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings comprises a blank B which is capable of being folded into a tote box or container C. A separate replaceable inner bottom R reinforces the bottom and maintains the folded blank in assembled relation.

The blank B is made from suitable material having outside surfaces which resist abrasion, which can withstand grease and oil from parts to be held therein, which may be cleaned with a damp cloth, and which are suitable to come in contact with food. One such suitable material is 275# test corrugated fibreboard whose outer faces are curtain coated with a petroleum based hot melt blend which includes paraffin wax. Other types of fibreboard suitably coated with protective material such as a plastic coating may also be used if desired. The corrugations should run in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1 if corrugated material is used.

The blank B shown in FIG. 1 comprises a bottom 1 with side walls 2 foldably connected thereto along scorelines 3. The side walls 2 have inner side walls 4 foldably connected thereto along double scorelines 5. The side walls 2 also have edges -6 which slope outwardly to a point adjacent to the double scorelines 5, and cut in or offset, at 7, for reasons which will be explained later herein. The angle 8 between the edge 6 and the double scoreline 5 is preferably about 78. The bottom 1 also has end walls 9 foldably connected thereto along score lines 10. Inner end walls 11 are foldably connected to the end Walls 9 along a double scoreline 12 and are also provided at their outer edges with bottom flaps 13 folded along a scoreline 14. The end walls 9 have side flaps 15 foldably connected thereto along the scorelines 16. These side flaps 15 are adapted to be folded inwardly and positioned between the side walls 2 and the inner side walls 4. The angle 17 between the scoreline 16 and the double scoreline 12 is preferably about The scorelines 16 intersect the scoreline 10 inwardly of the free edges 6 of the side walls 2 a distance of about /s inch, as shown by the arrows at 18. The end walls 9 and inner end walls 11 are provided with registering handholes 19 and 20. The end walls 2 each have a handhole flap 21 hinged at its upper edge or scoreline 22 which is adapted to fit through the handhole 20 in the inner end Wall 20. The inner side walls 4 have end flaps 23 foldably connected thereto along the scorelines 24. The end flaps 23 have handhole cut-out portions 25 in their outer edges 26 which register with the handholes 19 and 20 in the end walls 9 and inner end walls 11.

The inner bottom R is carefully dimensioned and comprises a fiat bottom 27 with an inner bottom flap 28 connected thereto along a scoreline 29. The inner bottom R has side edges 30 and a free end edge 31. The side edges 30 of the inner bottom R abut against the bottom portions of the inwardly folded inner side walls 4 and contact the inner surface of said inner side walls 4. The free end edge 31 of the inner bottom R abuts against the inner end wall 11 and rests on top of the bottom flap 13. The inner bottom flap 28 on the inner bottom R is folded upwardly to lie flatly against the lower portion of the opposite inner end wall 11. In practice, the inner bottom R can be reversed so that a new surface is presented after one surface becomes worn or soiled. Under some conditions of use, the inner bottom R must be replaced before the blank B must be replaced.

It is believed that the folding of the carton is readily apparent from the drawings. It is preferable to pre-break all scores. The side and end walls 2 and 9 are first folded upwardly with respect to the bottom 1 along the scorelines 3 and 10. The side flaps 15 hingedly connected to the end walls 9 are folded inwardly along the inner surfaces of the side walls 2. The end flaps 23 on the inner side walls 4 are folded outwardly away from the center of the container C and the inner side walls 4 are then folded along the double scores 5 downwardly to lie against the inner surfaces of the side walls 2 with the side flaps therebetween. The cut-in portions 7 position the inner side walls 4 inside of the tote box or container C. This positions the end flaps 23 in parallel relation to the end walls 9 with the cut-out portions registering with the handholes 20 and 21. The inner end walls 11 are then folded downwardly along the double scorelines 12 to lie over the end flaps 23 and form a triple thickness end wall. The bottom flaps 13 are folded along the scorelines 14 and lie flat against the bottom 1. The assembled carton frictionally stays in this assembled position.

To further insure permanent assembly and to prevent small parts from becoming wedged between the multiple thicknesses of the side and end walls, an inner bottom R is inserted into the main top opening of the container C and wedged downwardly so that its free end edge 31 contacts the bottom of the inner end wall 11 and the scoreline 29 coincides with the scoreline 14 and the inner bottom flap 28 lies against the lower portion of the opposite inner end wall 11.

The assembled tote box is then ready for use. Because of the plastic coated fibreboard material, this tote box has a relatively long life as compared to conventional fibreboard. However, due to heavy metal parts and other wear, the tote box may tend to wear out after some length of time. At that point, it need not be discarded. Instead, the inner bottom R can be removed by simply lifting it up by the inner bottom flap 28. The hereinbefore described folding process is then reversed to obtain the fiat blank shown in FIG. 1. The blank B can then be folded in the same manner but with the reverse sides outwardly in order to place all worn surfaces in adjacent relation to each other on the inside walls of the container, thus removing them from view and exposing clean new surfaces. By providing a blank which is reversible, the life of the container C is substantially doubled.

Referring to the modification shown in FIG. 5, wires 32 are suitably attached to the container C by inserting their ends 33 between the side walls 2 and the inner side walls 4 parallel to the scoreline 5. The wires 32 have arms 34 and curved portions 35 connected by a central portion 36 which extends longitudinally over the opening of the tote box parallel to the side walls 2. The curved or supporting portions 35 of the wires 32 rest on the upper edges of the end walls. The wires 32 are of sufiicient cross-section and strength to support a tote box and its contents which might be placed thereabove. Thus, the wires 32 prevent the upper tote box from resting directly upon the contents in the lower tote box. When not in use, the wires 32 can be removed from the tote box by pulling their ends 33 out of the side walls, or by pivoting the wires 32 upwardly 90 and then downwardly 180 so that the arms 34 hang downwardly outside of the corners of the tote box and the central portions are parallel and nearer to the scores 3.

The advantages of the foregoing tote box are believed to be apparent from the foregoing. These advantages include the reusable feature which permits a worn tote box to be readily unfolded to a flat blank B because there are no staples or adhesive to remove, and then folded in a reverse direction so that all worn surfaces will face each other and will not be visible to the user. The plastic coated material can withstand greasy or oily parts frequently deposited in tote boxes either individually or in great numbers, and can be readily cleaned with a wet or damp cloth. The coating material should be such that it can come into contact with food Without contaminating the food. The various members of the blank are dimensioned and the angles set forth are so chosen that the tote box tends to remain in assembled position with the free edges of the inner end walls 11 abutting against the end portions of the inner side walls 4 to further maintain the tote box in assembled relation and to prevent small parts from entering into the upstanding inside corners of the tote tray and getting in between the inner and outer walls. This construction provides corners which are of triple thickness.

The tote box may be used in machine shops, manufacturing plants, textile and chemical plants, to fill orders in supply houses, particularly those making up orders in less than case lots, in schools for temporary storage of items, in hospitals for carrying food or medicine (in which case white board may be used), in motels and hotels, and in other places for numerous other purposes.

This invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A tote box whose major box portion is folded from a one piece reversible blank made from plastic coated fibreboard material and requires no adhesive or staples to maintain said box in open assembled position, said tote box comprising a bottom with side walls and end walls foldably connected to said bottom, said side walls each having an inner side wall foldably connected thereto along a scoreline, said end walls each having an inner end wall foldably connected thereto along a scoreline, each of said inner end walls having a bottom flap foldably connected thereto and lying flatly against the top surface of said bottom, said end walls each having side flaps foldably connected thereto, said side flaps positioned between the side walls and the inner side walls, and a separate inner bottom member having an inner bottom portion and an inner bottom flap foldably connected thereto, said inner bottom portion being flat and lying on said bottom flaps, said inner bottom flap positioned along the inside surface of one of the inner end walls.

2. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein each inner side wall is foldably connected to its side wall by means of a double scoreline.

3. The tote box set forth in claim 2 wherein a cut-in portion is provided at the ends of said double score between each side wall and inner side wall.

4. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein said side flaps extend between said side walls and said inner side walls over a major portion of the space therebetween to form side walls of triple thickness over their major portion.

5. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein said inner side walls each have end flaps foldably secured thereto which extend between said end walls and inner end walls over a major portion of the space therebetween to form end walls of triple thickness over their major portion.

6. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said end walls and said inner end walls have registering handholes therein.

7. The tote box set forth in claim 5 wherein said end walls have a handhole flap hingedly secured to the top portion of the handhole, said handhole flap adapted to be pushed inwardly into the tote box to form a cushion for the top portion of the handhole.

8. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein said inner end walls are so dimensioned that the scoreline between each inner end wall and the bottom flap is adjacent to the scoreline between the end wall and the bottom, and the inner end wall remains in parallel relation to the end wall due to the frictional engagement of the bottom flap on the bottom and the edges of the inner end walls against the inside surfaces of the inner side walls.

9. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein said inner bottom member has an inner bottom flap foldably connected along one edge thereof and has a free opposite end edge, said free opposite end edge positioned in abutting relation to the inner surface of the inner end wall adjacent to the bottom thereof, said inner bottom flap positioned flatly against the inner surface of the lower portion of the other inner end wall.

10. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein said inner bottom member has two side edges and one end edge which abut against the inner faces of said two inner side walls and inner one end wall of said tote box adjacent to the bottom thereof.

11. The tote box set forth in claim 1 wherein supporting wires are pivotally mounted in the openings at the top of the corners of the tote box, said wires having end portions which extend into said openings parallel to the side walls and inner side walls, and wherein said supporting wires have arms which extend along portions of the end walls of said tote box and extend inwardly over the end walls over the main opening of the tote box.

12. The tote box set forth in claim 11 wherein said arms are connected together by a longitudinally extending central portion which extends over said end walls and connects said arms.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,950,168 3/1934 Fancher 229-23 2,468,951 5/ 1949 Barter 22934 2,791,365 5/1957 Cohen.

10 3,002,672. 10/1961 Kotowick 229-34 564,593 7/1896 Graw 229-34 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner 15 S. E. LIPMAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 220-97; 229-23 

